Trimming attachment for sewing-machines



(No Model.). 2 sheets -Sheet' 1.

W. F. BEARDSLEE, 0. KAISER & 0. RUSSELL.

TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

No. 431,136. Patented July l, 1890.

Witnesses JTIVEDLVUY.

@ W Y Z 1&5 5

(No- Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. F. BEARDSLEE, O. KAISER 81; C. RUSSELL.

TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MAGHINES. No. 431,136.

Patented July 1, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM FURMAN BEARDSLEE, CHARLES KAISER, AND CHARLES RUSSELL, OF NENVYORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO THE MANUFACTURERS SPECIAL MACHINE COMPANY, OFDANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

TRIMMING ATTACHMENT FORSEWlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,136, dated July 1,1890.

Application filed July5, 1888. Serial No. 279,008- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, TILLIAM FUBMAN BEARDSLEE, CHARLES KAISER, andCHARLES RUSSELL, all of New York, county and State 5 of New York, haveinvented an Improvement in Machines for Sewing and Trimming Fabrics, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters 011 the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention is an improvement on that class of machines for sewingand trimming fabric wherein shear-like blades are employed to trim thefabric parallel, to the line I of sewing.

In trimming-machines used prior to our invention, wherein a stationarylower cutter member has co-operating with it a movable upper member, theedges of the said cutter members have been arranged parallel each to theother and to the slots in the usual throat-plate through which thefeed-points work, and the acting edge of the upper member has beenbeveled to form an acute angle 2 5 with relation to the throat-plate;but the form of trimming mechanism has been found objectionable aslacking clearance. To afford clearance the edge of the lower member ofthe cutter-bar has been placed oblique to the 0 slot in the throat-platein which the feedpoints work, and the edge of the upper or movablemember of the cutter substantially parallel to said slot has been keptpressed against the edge of the under but stationary 5 member by a forcedue to a spring, as in United States Patent No, 255,57 8; but inpractice this form of trimming mechanism has been found objectionable,for the scraping of the edges of the cutters against each otherby aforce due to a spring wears away and dulls the edges of the cutters sorapidly that very much time is lost in removing cutters, grinding them,and again replacing them. To overcome the difficulties alluded to wehave 5 devised a trimming mechanism wherein the cutting-edges of bothmembers are substantially in vertical planes, each parallel to avertical plane passing through the line of stitching, as in the class oftrimmers first referred to; but to give the necessary clearance we havelocated the cutting-edge of the lower cutter member so that that cornerof its cutting-edge farthest from the operator in the direction of thefeed is most elevated from the level of the throat-plate, so that thecutting-edge of the lower cutter-bar forms an obtuse angle to the top ofthe throat-plate, and the upper member as a whole, instead of beingreciprocated in a vertical plane or perpendicular to the surface of thecloth-plate or parallel to the plane in which the needle moves, isreciprocated in a plane which is inclined with relation to thecloth-plate and to the plane of reciprocation of the needle; or, inother words, the upper end of the upper cutter-blade is tipped oversomewhat from a vertical plane. By tipping up that part of the lowercutter member farthest from the operator in the direction of the feedand causing the upper cutter member to recipro- 7o cate in a planeinclined from a perpendicular it is possible to have the cutting-edge ofone cutter near one end thereof meet the cut ting-edge of the othercutter near one end, and then, in the further movement of one of thesaid cutter members, cause the point of contact between the said twocutters to be gradually shifted to the opposite ends of the saidcuttingredges, leaving ample clearance behind the said points ofcontact, and yet, as the cutting-edges are parallel to each other in thetwo vertical planes parallel to the vertical planes passing through theline of stitching or through the feed-slots in the throat-plate,respectively, the said edges do not scrape one along the other as when aspring is used, and as a result thereof the edges of the cutter memberskeep sharp for a long time. Our invention consists, essentially, in thecombination, in a sewing-machine, of the folo lowing elements, viz: acloth-plate, feeding mechanism, a bed plate on the said clothplate, astationarycutter-bar having its cutting-edge in a vertical planeparallel to a vertical plane passing through the line of stitch- 5 ing,the rear corner of the cutting-edge of the said bar or the cornerthereof farthest from the operator in the direction of the feed beingelevated, as described, to place the said cutting-edge diagonally withrelation to the cloth-plate, and a movable cutter-blade having acutting-edge in a vertical plane substantially parallel to the verticalplane passing through the cutting-edge of the said cutter-bar andmovable in said plane, the said cutter-blade being tipped outwardly atits upper end away from a vertical line intersecting the cutting-edge ofthe cutter-bar, and

means to actuate the said blade, the edge of at the end of thisspecification.

Figure 1, in side elevation, shows a sufficient portion of asewing-machine to illustrate our invention; Fig. 2, an under side viewof the bed-plate for holding the lower member of the cutter on thecloth-plate. Fig. 3 is a section of Fig. 2 in the dotted line m. Fig. 4is a left-hand end elevation of the said bed-plate right side up,together with the blade I) and needle and part of the needle bar. Figs.5 and 6 represent different views of the cutting members to show therelative position of their edges. Fig. 7 is a view of the under side ofthe bed-plates with the stopplate omitted, as it may be, if desired;Fig. 8, a detail showing the bar E with its lip engaged with the bar 0.Fig. 9 is a detail in perspective showing the cloth plate, thethroat-plate, part of the bed-plate presserfoot, and parts of thetrimming devices. Fig. 10 is an enlarged detail; and Figs. 11 and 12 areother views enlarged from that shown in Fig. l to better show thepositions of the movable blade with relation to the cutter-bar.

The frame-work A has suitable bearings for the main shaft A, which isprovided with an eccentric A the said shaft also having attached to itan eccentric 13 common to United States Patent No. 355,053, datedDecember 28, 1886, wherein the said eccentric is shown by like letter,the said eccentric in the presentinvention, as in the machine describedin the said patent, actuating a feeding mechanism which will engage andfeed the material to be fed over the cloth-plate A to be trimmed by thecutters to be described, the said feed mechanism not being herein fullyshown or described because not of our invention, and instead of theparticular feed mechanism described in the said patent we may use anyother suitable or well-known feeding mechanism.

The needle-barf and the presscr-bar f are andmay be all as in the usualVVillcoX & Gibbs sewing-machine, and will be operated in usual manner.

The eccentric A. receives about it an eccentric-strap O, the oppositeend of the said strap embracing the ball-shaped head of a pin 0 suitablysecured in the short arm of a vibrating lever 0 having its fulcrum on astud O at right angles to the shaft A, the forward end of the said leverhaving attached to it by a suitable screw 2 the upper or movable bladeor cutter b, composed of a steel blade having a slotted shank, the saidblade, as shown having its cutting-edge substantially at right angles toits length, as best shown in Figs. 5 and 7, theblade being, however,preferably set diagonally with relation to the usual needle-hole, (shownin Fig. 4,) so that a straight line in prolongation of the said edgewould intersect the cloth-plate. Viewing Fig. 1, it will also be seenthat the said blade is slightly inclined from true perpendicular to thecloth-plate and from the line of reciprocation of the needle; but theedge3 of the blade I) is in a vertical plane parallel, or substantiallyso, with a vertical. plane passing through the cutting-edge 4 of theunder me-mberor bar 0, and both are consequently in parallel verticalplanes, each of which is parallel to a vertical plane passing throughthe line of stitching, and also to the vertical plane passing throughthe slots in the throat-plate through which the feed-.

points work.

The cutter-bar c is herein shown as a narrow plate having at its underside a longitudinal groove, as 5, which groove receives in it a lip, asshown in Fig. 3, at the edge of the support-plate D, attached to thetrimmer bedplate D by a suitable screw D, the said bedplate beingsecured to the cloth-plate A by a suitable screw D The bar forming thecutter member 0 is presented and held in an angular position, as shownin Figs. 3, 4, and 6, with relation to the cloth-plate, or that side ofthe said bar farthest from the operator in the direction of the feed iselevated or tipped up, so that the cutter-blade b in its descent, as

in Figs. 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 12, first comesin contact with the rearand most elevated edge of the said bar 0, and as the edge 3 of the bladeI) continues to descend the contact between it and the edge 4 of the bara is made to follow along the edges of the said blade as a single pointuntil the blade I) and bar 0 occupy the position shown in Fig. 6,wherein the righthand diagram by the small open space shows theclearance which exists at such time.

The vertical planes passing through the cutting-edges 3 and 4 in thedirection of their length from front to rear of the machine are, asstated, parallel, or substantially so, and such planes are, in part,practically contiguous, and the blade Z; in its descent is enabled totravel close to, but it does not scrape against,

the edge l so as to scrape or dull both its own centric-strap is of suchlength as at each upstroke of the blade I) to bring its edge 3 entirelyabove the edge 4 so as to leave a clear open space, as in Fig. 1.

The bed-plate D at its edge next the usual feed-slot in the usual plateA has applied to it by screw 8 a stop-plate 10, having a prong 12, whichserves to arrest the outward movement of the bar 0.

The bar 0, as shown in Fig. 2 by dotted lines, has a cross-groove 13,which is entered by a lip 14 (see Fig. 8) of an adjusting-rod E, fittedto slide longitudinally in a sleeve 15, forming part of a plate 16,attached to the bed-plate by a set-screw 17 the said plate 16 having twosteady-pins l8 entering holes in the bed-plate.

The bar 0 may be moved longitudinally by the rod E for the purpose ofadjustment and is held in adjusted position by a set-screw, as

6. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

WVhen it is desired to remove the bar 0 to be ground, the set-screw 17is removed, and thereafter the rod E and clamping-plate 16 may beremoved, and after them the bar 0, and when it is desired to grind thecutter, the devices described enable the removal of the cutter-bar to beaccomplished quickly.

The presser-foot f attached to the presserbar f may be of any usualshape, and be attached to the presser-bar in usual manner.

The shaft A at its forward end is supposed to have attached to it arotating hook of the WVillcox & Gibbs pattern, which hook co-operateswith the thread of the needle in usual manner to form a chain-stitch.

1. The cloth-plate, feeding mechanism,a bed-plate on the saidcloth-plate, and a cutter-bar 0, having its cutting-edge in a verticalplane parallel to a vertical plane passing through the line ofstitching, the rear-corner of the cutting-edge of the said bar or thecorner farthest from the operator in the direction of the feed beingelevated, as described, to place the said cutting-edge diagonally withrelation to the cloth-plate, combined with the movable cutter-blade Z),having a cutting-edge 3, moving in a vertical plane substantiallyparallel to the said vertical plane of the cutting-edge of the saidcutter-bar, the said blade b being tipped outwardly at its upper endaway from a vertical line intersecting the cutting-edge of thecutter-bar, and with means to actuate the said blade, the combinationand arrangement of the said cutter-bar and blade being such,substantially as described, as to enable the edge 3 of the blade totravel along the cuttingedge of the cutter'bar c and contact therewithat but a single point in any of the different positions assumed by theblade in its descent, thus leaving a clearance behind the cutting-pointof the two blades in the direction of the feed, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a sewingmachine, the bed-plate D the cutter-bar c therein, andprovided along its longitudinal edge with agroove 5, the support-plateD, having a lip to enter the said groove and constitute a clamp andguide for said bar, combined'with the rod E, adapted to engage at itsinner end the inner end of the said cutter-bar, and with the detachablebearing-plate 16, having guide-pins 18, and with a set-screw 17, theremoval of the said screw permitting the plate, the rod, and thecutter-bar to be drawn out from the bedplate, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM FURMAN BEARDSLEE. CHARLES KAISER. CHARLES RUSSELL.

"Witnesses:

A. O. STEVENS, A. O. MERRIAM.

